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Flettner Fl 282 "Kolibri"
Introduced in Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of World War II, this is the first and until now the only helicopter in FHSW! The Flettner Fl 282 "Kolibri" was a German helicopter design which was still in design stage. It was a single-seat open cockpit intermeshing rotor helicopter, or synchropter, produced by Anton Flettner of Germany. It was an improved version of the early Flettner Fl 265 helicopter, which was announced in July 1940 and had the same intermeshing rotor configuration. It had a Siemens-Halske Sh 14 radial engine of 150-160 hp mounted in the center of the fuselage, with a transmission mounted on the front of the engine from which a driveshaft ran to an upper gearbox which then split the power to a pair of opposite driveshafts to turn the rotors. The Sh 14 engine was a tried and tested design with a proven track record which only required servicing every 400 hours as opposed to the Focke Achgelis Fa 223 which needed maintenance every 25 hours. The Fl 282's fuselage was constructed from steel tube covered with doped fabric, and it was fitted with a fixed undercarriage. The German Navy was impressed with the Kolibri and wanted to evaluate it for submarine spotting duties, ordering an initial 15 examples to be followed by 30 production models. Flight testing of the first two prototypes was carried out through 1941, including repeated takeoffs and landings from a pad mounted on the German cruiser Köln. The first two "A" series prototypes had enclosed cockpits; all subsequent examples had open cockpits and were designated "B" series. In case of an engine failure, the switch from helicopter to autorotation was automatic. Three-bladed rotors were installed on a test bed and found smoother than the vibrating 2-bladed, but the concept was not pursued further. After the war, Anton Flettner emigrated to the United States and became the chief designer for Kaman Aircraft creating the Kaman HH-43 Huskie. Intermeshing rotors have become noted with Kaman helicopters which continues this concept. However there are no weapons on the Kolibri design, there are four variants of this helicopter in FHSW which all have their own weaponry. The standard (taken from Forgotten Hope) has a single 20mm MG 151/20 machine gun. With the right click, the pilot can spot targets for the artillery. Fl 282 "Panzerschreck" This is the anti-tank version. On both sides of the carriage, two 8.8cm Panzerschreck anti-tank handweapons are placed. The Panzerschreck proves itself as a very powerful anti-tank rocket launcher. However, its shells can bounce off front, back or rear sides of heavy tanks, such as the T29. The Kolibri can easily hit the targets from above in their weakest point... roof. Fl 282 "Raucher" The next version can drop smoke grenades. This variant has a single 7,92mm MG 81 under its nose. On both sides of the carriage, four Nebelhandgranate 39 are slung which can be dropped like a bomb in order to directly support advance of own troops. However, artillery spotting ability was removed. Fl 282 "Gießkanne" If you shoot once with this variant of the Fl 282, you will immediately recognizes why it is called "Gießkanne" ("watering can"). Two externally mounted gunpacks contain twelve 7.92-mm machine guns, so the rate of fire is incredible - 6,000 rounds per minute. The same gun also comes with a special Ju 87 variant in this mod and is highly effective especially against infantry and light armored targets. Category:German Equipment Category:Helicopters Category:Reconnaissance aircrafts